1967 Ford Falcon Sports Coupe - Going For Gold

'67 Falcons Haven't Been The Be-All Of The Falcon Set-Our Question After Seeing This One Is, Why?

Jeff Ford

February 1, 2004

We'll admit to a certain amount of fondness for the '67 Falcon Sports Coupe. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the Coupe looks so much like the muscle-bound four-door '68-'71 bad-boy Falcons from Australia. In fact ,back in 1969, Ford Australia imported a '67 Sports Coupe and visually amped up the car using some local bits (like the hood) and a shaker to wow the crowds on the Oz show circuit. Or maybe it's the idea that a big-inch mill will fit between the fenders of a '66-'68 Falcon with very little muss or fuss. We remember a drag car from Houston, Texas, that wore a 428 Cobra Jet under its green hood and had a sticker on the valve covers that said "Welcome to the stone age, son." Or maybe it's just that nose-down brawny attitude reminiscent of so many Olympic gold-medal winners we see in cars like this. Whatever the story, we like the cars, and when we find one that is in primo condition we shoot photos of it. That was certainly the case with Frank Perdomo's '67 Sports Coupe. We first spied the brawny Bronze Metallic Falcon at the Silver Springs show in January 2003. We liked what we saw and, though the car was just shy of completion (we know nothing is ever really finished in this hobby), we shot it. Unfortunately, the camera that bore the photos of the Falcon (and six other cars) was stolen soon after.

Alas, all was lost for a time. The Perdomos live in West Palm Beach and we are in Lakeland, Florida. Not a long haul, but not right in our back yard either. While we were cruising the Fantasy of Flight show in Lakeland we crossed paths with Frank and his son Frank Jr. The cool part-the car was even further along than before.

Why a Falcon? Like so many of us, Frank grew up in the '60s and, in order to be cool, you needed a V-8 and a four-speed. Ergo, our intrepid owner found a '67 with said tranny, drove it for a few years, then got rid of it. That decision is one that must have haunted him because in 2001 he picked up the car you see here. This car is pretty much like his original, except for color. Where his was black, this one is bronze. And rather than the red interior, the "new" Falcon has black guts.

Since the paint was good, the Perdomos went to work to liven up the sleepy 289 2V. In went a Crane cam, on went an Edlebrock Air Gap intake and a Holley 650-cfm carb. All of that nestles nicely between ported and polished 289 heads. Sparking chores are handled by a PerTonix Ignitor and Motorsport wires. Rather than go the everyman route, the father/son duo used the stock Powered by Ford valve covers and had them Jet-Hot coated. The same holds true for the intake and Flowtech headers. The four-speed remains untouched, as does the stock rear gear. Factory creature comforts are on a short list: air conditioning. Added to the Falcon is an am/fm stereo with rear deck speakers. Rolling stock is one feature that really gave us a grin: Frank chose a set of American Racing Ralley 775 wheels and caps in 15x7-inch diameter for all four corners. This gives the Sports Coupe a different look and helps distinguish it from those with "everyman" wheels. Tires are P205/65R15 up front and P255/60R15 in the rear.

While the color is listed on the Perdomos tech sheet as Bronze Metallic, you can bet we're not the only ones who see gold when looking at this muscled-up '67.